Desperate dons must take risks for bigger rewards
Tony Blair has shown decisive leadership qualities in putting forward necessary but unpopular proposals to restore universities' freedom to set fees. It needs to be matched by similar qualities of leadership in the universities themselves.
Merger lectures are best ignored
The biggest universities in the world are clearly not the best. So why do some British universities think that mergers will make them world class?
Business can be a Nobel pursuit
The gap between American universities and the rest of the world is widening. The week in which the Nobel Prizes are awarded is an opportune time to ask why.
Reflections on the New Economy
John recalls his thinking during the extraordinary years of the 'new economy'.
Oxford Experiences
John Kay became a Fellow of St John’s College, Oxford in 1970 and taught in the university for ten years. After periods as Director o...
On John Kay’s Bookshelf – Archive page
Books that John has reviewed in the past...
Oxford University: Facing the Future (Prospect reply)
John Kay responds to some of the criticisms that resulted from his recent article in Prospect Magazine.
A lost cause?
The notion that effective management and free intellectual inquiry are incompatible derives from the belief that if you give people aut...
An object lesson in prevarication: Oxford University
Oxford University is still one the world's greatest academic institutions. To rise to fresh challenges in the twenty first century it must begin to address the ineffectiveness of its proceedings.
Dr Clarendon
Dr Clarendon, an expert on the Management of Decline, provides a more light-hearted account of John's views on the state of Oxford University.